"Rep. Moore strenuously denies that he is guilty of any wrongdoing, or that he has perjured himself in any way, and he looks forward to being afforded a day in court to defend himself against these baseless charges," a statement from the lawmaker said.

Moore went on to question the motivation behind the charges: "The timing of today's charges, and the facts and circumstances surrounding this case are a clear indication of the political undertones of this prosecution."

Moore was charged with two counts of first-degree perjury and two counts of making false statements in a public corruption case under investigation by the Alabama attorney general's office.

The charges come from Moore's Jan. 24 testimony before a special grand jury. The panel convened by the attorney general's office has been meeting in Lee County off and on since summer and few details of the case are known.

"It is a serious crime to provide false statements to a grand jury," acting Attorney General Van Davis said in a statement about the arrest.

The Enterprise legislator turned himself in at the Lee County Jail. He was arrested and released on $10,000 bond, according to Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones.

Prosecutors accused Moore of answering questions falsely before a grand jury when a deputy attorney general, Matt Hart, asked if he had told his primary opponent that Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard had threatened to hold up money for a local economic development project if he ran against Moore.

"OK, and you didn't assert to him that the speaker had, in fact made that threat?" prosecutor Matt Hart asked Moore, according to the indictment.

"No sir," Moore replied.

Moore's opponent, Josh Pipkin, said he had testified before the Lee County grand jury. Pipkin said he recorded a phone conversation with Moore discussing his candidacy and an economic development project for Enterprise.

Moore was first elected to the Alabama House in 2010. He owns a waste-hauling company in Coffee County.

Moore is the the second legislator to face criminal charges in the ongoing investigation of state government.